by Barry Newton

Several years ago on tv a commercial would begin with a group of people happily and noisily chatting. But as a certain man began to speak, suddenly the crowd would go silent and strain to hear every word which would fall from his lips. A narrator would announce, "When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen."

This commercial exaggerates the respect and behavior people show for those whom they respect. But such riveted attention is appropriate for how we should respond to Jesus.

While Jesus was fully human just as we are/1, he was also much more than just another prophet announcing God’s message. The Word which was with God in the beginning and which was God and through whom the world had been made took on flesh, blood and bone in order to live among us./2 Jesus was the Son of God./3

Accordingly, Jesus cried out to the crowds, "I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world."/4 "I speak the things which I have seen with My Father." /5

For us to comprehend and embrace Jesus’ teachings about himself, frees us from the apathy and ambivalence which comes from doubting whether truth is knowable. Jesus’ teachings recast our lives within the mold of assurance, meaningfulness and certainty. Their importance for our lives is seen in his pronouncement:

"If anyone hears My sayings, and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say, and what to speak." (6)

What did Jesus teach?

• If we are left to ourselves, we will not receive eternal life
• He has made it possible for us to receive eternal life.
• He came and died in order that we might be saved.
• Unless we believe what He has taught about himself and respond appropriately, we will die in our sins.
• It is foolish to ignore Him in order to pursue other goals thus losing our own life in the end.
• To follow Jesus involves dying to ourselves in order to live for God. This path of following Jesus is not a difficult burden.

While God used man to write down His message, the Bible is the Word of God, not a human product. May we all listen appropriately to the message of the Word which became flesh and was laid in a manger.

1/ Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 4:2 2/ John 1:1-3,14 3/ John 1:17 4/ John 8:26 (NASB) 5/ John 8:38 (NASB) 6/ John 12:47-49 (NASB)

It hit me the first thing this morning. I could have been dressing to go to the hospital or to a funeral home.

Last night [Tuesday] after our song service, my daughter Laura Lynn drove her Geo Prizm home. The rain was cold, and Interstate 65 was wet.

Laura just graduated from Freed-Hardeman University as an art major. She had taken three years of Koine Greek and had distinguished herself as an honors college graduate.

Unfortunately, someone had broken off her side mirror. Some car or truck had brushed by too closely on the narrow streets of Henderson. It left her a blind spot.

As she journeyed home, a car entering the interstate from an on-ramp moved too rapidly and uncautiously into her blind side. She overcompensated her swerve away from the intruder and, hitting her brakes, threw her Geo into a spin.

What happened next was a blur for her, but the driver of a large white truck saw her face as his vehicle collided with her.

The collision sent Laura down an embankment and into the fence at the bottom. Fortunately, the grass and soil were thoroughly soaked and provided a softer landing.

The old car, which is paid for, is completely totaled with damage to the undercarriage and wheels as well as the front fender. Laura, however, came out without a scrape or a bruise. She says her neck hurts a little.

I could have spent the day at the hospital or the funeral home. God was gracious. He walked with her through the shadow of death and brought her home safely.

I am reminded of the brevity and the precious nature of life. Our children are a wonderful gift. Whether we have them short or long, let us treasure each day with them.

by Mitchell Skelton

I love Christmas. There is no one facet of Christmas that makes the season so charming to me. I think it is the combination of all the different aspects. I enjoy the family gatherings, the food, giving gifts, the eyes of little children as they set their gaze upon Santa Clause, and, of course, there is the receiving of gifts. Christmas became much sweeter to me when I became a father. Nothing thrills me more than to watch my children as they unwrap that one special gift; the one Santa always puts way behind the tree so that you inevitably open it last.

One thing that has always puzzled me about Christmas is the zealot-like effort that some men put forth to show that Jesus really wasn't born on December 25th. The reality that Jesus was or was not born on this specific day really does not matter in the big scheme of things. Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to celebrate the birth of Christ and yet nowhere in the Bible are we told to ignore his birth either.

Like it or not, the majority of people in the world still celebrate December 25th as the birthday of Jesus Christ. Rather than ignore his birth or, worse yet, try to discredit the holiday and those who observe it, I believe we should embrace this holiday as an evangelistic opportunity.

One of the first examples of evangelism was Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip found the eunuch, a religious man, reading prophesies about Christ from Isaiah 53. The Bible tells us; "Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus" (Acts 8:35). Philip did not assume that the eunuch was naive or unlearned in the Scripture, yet he knew there was more he needed to know. The eunuch needed to hear the good news about Jesus. The eunuch had an obvious interest in God and a desire to know about the prophesied Messiah. Philip capitalized on this man's desire to learn about Christ and the eunuch, after being baptized, "went on his way rejoicing." We, too, should learn from Philip's example. Wherever we find a seeker of Christ, there is where we should start teaching them the good news. With so many seekers of Christ focusing on his birth during this Christmas season we would be careless, even negligent, if we did not start from "that very passage of Scripture" and tell them the good news about Jesus.

The birth of Jesus was good news for all people. "But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people" (Luke 2:10). Jesus' birth was good news because it brought light into the darkness of the world. "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). Jesus' birth was necessary for our atonement. For Jesus to take away our sins he had to become human. "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people" (Heb. 2:14—17).

The birth of Jesus was a demonstration of God's grace. The birth of Jesus was God's declaration to mankind that he takes sin seriously. Jesus came to take away the sin of the world. "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:5—6). Jesus came to give us the gift of grace. "But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!" (Rom. 5:15—17).

The news of a gracious Savior requires man to act. The shepherds' example in the birth narrative of Jesus shows us the urgency of seeking Christ. Upon hearing the news of the birth of a Savior the Bible says, "They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby" (Luke 2:16). In Matthew's account of Jesus' birth, we find the story of the Magi or Wise Men who sought out the newborn King of the Jews. What we know to be true of these men is still true today; wise men still seek Him! "Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD" (Ps. 107:43).

This Christmas season, do the right thing concerning true seekers of Christ. Take them from where they are and teach them the good news!